UA fraternity, Tide football player named in lawsuit

A federal lawsuit filed against Sigma Chi fraternity and University of Alabama football player Kelly Gregory Johnson alleges that Johnson assaulted a pledge at his home two years ago.

Staff Report

A federal lawsuit filed against Sigma Chi fraternity and University of Alabama football player Kelly Gregory Johnson alleges that Johnson assaulted a pledge at his home two years ago.The suit, filed against Sigma Chi Corp., the Iota Iota chapter at the University of Alabama and Johnson, states that fraternity members furnished alcohol to underage members. It claims that Johnson assaulted a pledge at a party, causing him serious physical harm.The personal injury suit was filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Birmingham. No criminal charges were filed against Johnson in relation to the alleged assault. The complaint states that pledge Logan Herring, who was younger than 21 at the time, attended off-campus fraternity events several times each week in which an unlimited amount of alcohol was furnished to minors. It states that he was vomiting in the bathroom at a party held at Johnson's off-campus house during the fall semester of the 2010-2011 school year. Johnson approached Herring, the suit states, and kicked and punched him until Herring lost consciousness. The complaint states that Herring suffered from a concussion and brain injury, memory loss, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.Johnson was 20 at the time of the alleged assault. The suit states that Sigma Chi should not have allowed minors to consume alcohol. Johnson played in nine games for UA last season as a special teams player. He's been the team's starter at H-back during the 2012 season.Birmingham attorney Rick DiGiorgio filed the suit on behalf of Herring. He had no comment Monday.“At this time we'll refer to the lawsuit and let it speak for itself for the time being,” he said.No attorneys were listed for Sigma Chi, the local chapter or Johnson.The suit requests that a jury determine compensatory and punitive damages. The defendants had not filed a response to the complaint as of Tuesday. No information was about attorneys representing Sigma Chi or Johnson was listed.No criminal charges were filed against Johnson in relation to the alleged assault.

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